The long awaited mission trip to Chile finally came and the team and I are thankful for the opportunity to be used for God’s glory. It was encouraging to see the people who came out to the send-off at the T-Center. I am constantly reminded that when a church sends a team on the mission field, they are never going alone; but rather, they have a whole community of people going with them. This is why I am such an advocate of people going on missions trips with a church, if it is possible.
The best part of this trip is being able to go with Josiah, my oldest son, who is 13 years old. Christina and I have decided that there will be several milestones for our kids before they go off to college. The first one is the famous “sex talk” with our kids when they turn double digits (10 years old). Another one is when they turn 13 years old, we want to send them with one of us on a missions trip. It is too easy to grow up in the States and become spoiled with all the blessing, both materially and spiritually. We want our kids to experience a world outside the comforts of America. As they see the various needs and opportunities of sharing God’s love, we are praying that our kids will gain a bigger heart for God, His people and the nations.
So far it has been a tremendous blessing to just hang out with Josiah. By being in a different context, we are learning a lot about one another. Also, we have been trying to help each other on this trip. He has been able to use some of the Spanish that he learned at school; and I have been fumbling through all the phrases I learned through the past missions trip to Latin America. But all in all, it has been a great joy to build up my relationship with Josiah. I am truly blessed to have a son who is growing up to learn how to love God and people, and to play a part in the process is an incredible blessing.
The team (made up of post-college people) is doing well. We are currently making the last minute preparations before we head out to Constitucion. This was the area that was affected by the earthquake and the tsunami back in February 27th of this year. We cannot wait to bring the hope of Jesus Christ. The best part of all this is that the church that we are working with are planning on starting a church in this area. They have been building relationships with the people in the community; and now the hearts of the people in Constitucion are receptive. We are not going alone to minister but we will be partnering up with a group of people from the church to share the love of Christ shoulder to shoulder. Honestly, we will be the ones learning the most from the nationals – and this is how it should be.
We can’t wait for the great testimonies that will come forth from this trip. Then we will come back to Santiago for the weekend ministries.
I will try to video blog some parts of the trip so that you can get a glimpse of what is happening here. Thanks for the partnership in the Gospel.